1. 4-1
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Action Research
Geoffrey E. Mills
Fifth Edition
© 2014, 2011, 2007, 2003, 2000
Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
A Guide for the Teacher Researcher

2. 4-2
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 4
Data Collection Techniques

3. 4-3
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Data Collection
 Largely determined by the nature
of the problem
 qualitative
 quantitative
 mixed method

4. 4-4
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Qualitative Data Collection
Techniques

5. 4-5
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. 4-6
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Interviews
 Informal ethnographic
 Structured formal
 Focus group
 E-mail
 Questionnaire

7. 4-7
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Questionnaires
 Proofread carefully.
 Avoid a sloppy presentation.
 Avoid a lengthy questionnaire.
 Do not ask unnecessary questions.
 Use structured items with a variety
of possible responses.
 Whenever possible, include an
“Other Comments” section.
 Decide whether you want
respondents to include names.

8. 4-8
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Using and Making Records
 Archival documents
 attendance and retention rates
 discipline referrals
 standardized test scores
 Journals
 Maps, video and audio recordings,
photos, film
 Dictation software
 Other artifacts

9. 4-9
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Digital Research Tools for
the 21st
Century
 Wikis
 Blogs
 Skype

10. 4-10
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Quantitative
Data Collection Techniques
 Teacher-made tests
 Standardized tests
 School-generated report cards
 Attitude scales
 Likert scales
 Semantic differential

11. 4-11
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Online/Web-based Surveys
 User-friendly online survey
providers
 SurveyMonkey
 Zoomerang
 LimeSurvey
 eSurveysPro

12. 4-12
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Triangulation
 Use of multiple sources of data
 “multi-instrument” approach

13. 4-13
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Triangulation Matrix

14. 4-14
Mills
Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Realigning Your Focus
 Other directions appear more
interesting, relevant, or
problematic
 That’s fine —
 Action research is intimate, open-
ended, serendipitous
 Action research is done to benefit
you and the students